Self Empowered of Spirit Filled
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(John 16)
Story of a man / had a job one summer delivering eggs to omelet shops / small grocers / bakeries / in Oakland / Problem was there always seemed to be a road closed / accident / or hundreds of orange traffic cones funneling traffic from five lanes to one lane / and for absolutely no apparent reason / So he was always trying to find my way around these barriers, roadblocks and bottlenecks.
One afternoon as he was making a delivery to this small grocery store / it took him about a half an hour to pick his way through the parking lot to this small grocery store / it was exhausting / When he was done with the delivery he could see that going out of the parking lot the same way he came in / was out of the question.
Then, over to his right he saw traffic moving briskly through the nearby parking garage / He could see that that was his ticket out of there / One problem / when his boss trained him / he said “Under no circumstances, ever drive the egg van into that parking garage.” / Boss never said why…
This was Oakland / so he figured the boss didn’t want me to go into the parking garage because it was a place where he could easily get robbed / mugged / but it was broad daylight / people everywhere - it would be perfectly safe in the parking garage / off he went
Everything was going smoothly, he was almost through the garage / only four cars in front of him….and that’s when he hear this loud screeching sound / the egg van came to a complete stop / The van was too tall for the parking garage / He was now stuck in this parking garage / now a long line of cars forming behind / honking their horns
For over an hour / he had to back up / explain to angry drivers / why he’s backing up / finally got out
Later that week, he had a call from my boss checking up on how things were going / Boss said, “I heard about the parking garage in Oakland. You made quite the scene.” He admitted his folly / explained how difficult it was to get out of the situation.
Boss just laughed / Ssid that the reason he told me to never go into the parking garage / It was that the exact same thing happened to the last guy who had the job / Van was stuck in the exact same place months before / but the last guy didn’t cause all the commotion that I did / The man asked, “What did the guy do to get out of the garage? How did he get out of the garage without causing commotion?”
“Mike just let some air out of the tires. Then, Mike drove right out of the parking garage and went on his way.”
John 16: 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you;
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
I. Human Effort
I. Human Effort
A. Self made Man
1. Many of us were sinners before coming to Christ / as sinners / we made our own rules / we were our own God
a. We learned how to live our own lives / make it on our own
1. Most often ended up bad / but none the less / we got to make our choices
2. Then we heard about God’s love / said a prayer / hopefully this is the case for everyone in this room
a. We Like the idea of Christianity / don’t mind talking about God / even Jesus
1. When it comes to third person of Trinity / HS / He’s like Cousin Eddie / You don’t know what to do with Him
I think Everyone has an in-law / falls into this category / they are now family / but every time they are around / they don’t quite fit in / you acknowledge their existence / might even like them / just don’t know what to do with them
I know someone / who says she is a christian / but says she does not like the speaking in tongues / HS part of Christianity
2. Interesting thought / because Jesus speaking / says it’s BETTER for Him to leave…. Really?
a. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away;
B. I recently did a study / God being WITH man
1. Bible speaks of God being with Abraham / God was with Joseph / God was with Elisha
a. Noticed something / All references of God with / all OT / Not one in NT
1. Something vital you can’t miss / OT = God with us / NT = God in us
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away;
2. He must God / because although God with us is good / God in you is better
a. Jesus could BE with His followers
1. HS would live in His followers
Have you ever contemplated seeing some of our heroes of the faith in heaven? Meeting David / Moses / Elisha / ask them what it was like to see burning bush / call down fire from heaven / finally ask them what it was like….
Then I realized / it’s probably going to be the opposite...
What if I ask David what it was like to slay giant / he will probably flip the script / ask me what it was like to have HS living inside of you, giving you strength when you are weak
Ask Elijah what it was like to raise a child from the dead / he will probably say / he ended up dying again / then he’d probably say / you tell me what it was like to have HS giving you joy when you were depressed / power to overcome sin
As Moses what it was like to follow cloud by day / fire by night / What was it like to meet God on mountain? He’d probably say I had to climb a mountain…. You tell me what it was like to have him dwell IN you each / every day / what it was like to have HS giving you direction when you didn’t know what to do / where to go
C. Holy Spirit’s Desire
1. Paul illustrates how powerful HS wants to be in our lives
a. Rom 8:11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you
1. When you get saved / you receive a gift from God / HS / His promise to all those who put faith in Him
2. Question is not whether or not you have access to HS / Question is have you accessed it? Are you still accessing it?
a. Huge difference between receiving HS / and continually being filled with HS
II. Going it Alone
II. Going it Alone
A. The Problem
1. Similar to first century church / Galatia / Paul preached grace / people surrendered lives / accepted this free gift
a. Soon after Paul left / false teachers came in / Judaizers / pushing people back to Law
1. They were emphasizing human effort / hard work / over power of HS / Paul addresses that
b. Gal 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?
1. Paul points out / trying to live Christian life on own power / is ridiculous
a. Why walk when you can ride?
2. Easy to fall into trap of try harder / do-it-yourself mentality
a. Put Emphasis more on effort / self-discipline
1. That with enough work we can follow Jesus
a. As ridiculous as it seems / we often put confidence in own efforts / instead of HS’s power
I can remember in our move to Utah / easy packing / lots of help / not so easy unpacking / there all by ourselves / I can remember a desk we brought with us / heavy / solid / I had to move it to the room it would be in / stairs / corners / our kids were small / I can remember one of them trying to help / got between my arms / we began pushing / it was moving / grunting groaning / at one point they stopped looked at me / said Dad you’re in my way / tried on their own / it didn’t go anywhere / they thought they were moving the desk / I just had to laugh
I can remember early days in Utah / DOING will of God / working 70 hours weeks between job / ministry everything else / DOING more / instead of admitting my weakness / resting relying on HS / knowing I was there to build a church / fell into trap of trying to do it myself / My wife would say to take a day off / answer is I can’t / I have to do more!
It was then I remembered moving that desk / How often God must be sitting back laughing / as we think we are pushing the desk / instead of realizing His power and strength
B. Feeling Stuck
1. People who try to follow Jesus without HS power will start to show signs
a. Reach point of frustration from failures
1. Not doing what you want to do / continually doing thins you don’t want to do
a. You keep promising others you will change
b. “Things will be different this time around” “…and this time I really mean it”
c. You lay awake at night / saying “never again”
d. Never again will I / lose my temper / get on that website / take that drink / never again
2. But you lay awake / making same promises over / over again
2. When we try to follow Jesus / without being spirit filled
a. We find ourselves frustrated by our failures / exhausted by our efforts
Reminds me of times when our kinds were younger / any time we go on a vacation / kids too small to be any real help / my wife and I would share responsibilities / One of us packs / A LOT OF STUFF / the other carries it everywhere / that’s how we’ve worked it out / so when we get where we are going / they are ready to ready to run off / begin adventure / I am frustrated / exhausted / annoyed / they are ready to keep moving
3. When we like God / Jesus / without HS / we will become overwhelmed by life’s circumstances
a. On outside / it can appear we are following Christ
1. But when something in life goes wrong / they don’t have the power to overcome it
a. Instead of following Christ / sticking close in storm / become discouraged / keep their distance
C. Weariness
1. Inevitable / something happens / you can’t get through it on your own
a. You WILL come to a place / discover / it doesn’t work without the power of HS
1. Question: Are you Self Empowered or Spirit Filled?
2. If you are only a fan of Christ / not a follower / it will wear you out
a. You will get burned out by trying to live Christian life by own efforts
1. You will end up drained / defeated
3. Jesus promised His followers / HS would come on them in power
a. This is a journey we were never intended to make on our own / quite opposite /
III. Promises of the Holy Spirit
III. Promises of the Holy Spirit
A. The Last Conversation
1. This is last moment Jesus had with his disciples / before arrest / crucifixion
a. He is trying to prepare them for his death / they are in denial
1. They can’t imagine losing their teacher / leader / friend / worst possible news ever!
2. John 16: 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go I will send Him to you!
B. I TELL YOU THE TRUTH (let that sink in - He Is tellings us what He is about to say is important)
1. Strategy of hell / get us to ignore what God says
a. Remember Garden / crafty serpent / Did God really say?
2. Jesus says here are the truths
a. 1- I am going / verses before / telling them it will get rough / which was all more important for Him to go away
1. …It is to your advantage that I go away
b. His departure seemed disastrous / Jesus is saying it will be to their profit
3. Better to NOT be dependent on the visible
a. Disciples were with Jesus / walking by sight / Thomas wanted to “touch” Him / walking by sight
1. God wants us to walk by faith / not by sight
C. HS Will guide you into all truth
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth;
1. Jesus wanted to assure them the HS would come into their lives as a guide to direct them in all truth as He had
Jim Lovell was one of the astronauts of Apollo 13. Before that mission he was asked by an interviewer if he had ever had a close call while he was pilot, and this is the story he shared. “I remember this one time I’m in a banshee at night in combat conditions, so there’s no running lights on the carrier. It was the Shangri-La and we were in the Sea of Japan. My radar jammed and my homing signal was gone because somebody in Japan was actually using the same frequency. So it was leading me away from where I was supposed to be, and I am looking down at a big black ocean. So I flip on my map light, then suddenly, zap, everything shorts out right there in my cockpit. All my instruments are gone, my lights are gone, and I can’t tell even what my altitude is. I know I am running out of fuel, so I am thinking about ditching in the ocean. I look down, and then in the darkness, there’s this green trail. It’s like a long carpet that’s just laid out beneath me. It was the algae – it was that phosphorescent stuff that gets churned up in the wake of a big ship. It was leading me home. If my cockpit lights hadn’t shorted out there’s no way I would have been able to see that. You never know what events that transpire to get you home”
a. HS works like that algae leading him back to the carrier
1. HS leads us in uncertainty / illuminates path before us / leads us to follow in His footsteps
a. Ps 23:3 He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
2. 13 … and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
a. HS doesn’t move so individuals can be glorified / but so Jesus will be glorified in our lives
1. HS will speak of things to come (you won’t have to get all your news from talk radio)
2. HS will teach only Christ’s doctrine
A man in Tennessee insisting that, “I was led by the Holy Spirit” was arrested for wife beating and child-abuse. His defense consisted primarily of claiming that an emotional experience at a revival meeting meant that (1) he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and (2) he could do as he pleased because he was “Spirit –filled”. Thankfully The judge had other ideas.
3. HS will teach you what Christ desires for your life and empower you to do it
3. I tell you the truth” is what Jesus said / what he did
a. His disciples didn’t understand or believe Him. Will we?
1. He’s gone but the Spirit is here
a. Christian - God’s Spirit is trying to get your eyes on Jesus!!!!
b. Non-Christian - God’s Spirit is trying to get your eyes on Jesus!!!!